Vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem is the backbone of a prosperous community, where rise of an innovative culture is so often credited to those who convert ideas and creativity into meaningful ventures. However, hardly any limelight is shed upon those who work behind the scenes and design, execute, and educate policies that eventually minimize barrier to entry for its residents.
Startup Grind Lansing is proud to host a panel discussion that would deliberate on the critical junctures where entrepreneurship, innovation, and public policy intersect. Our guests are nationally recognized leaders who represent Lansing entrepreneurial ecosystem with distinction.
Anderson Economic Group
Principal and CEO
Capital Area Manufacturing Council
Executive Director
Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Associate Professor and Faculty Director
Anderson Economic Group is one of the most recognized boutique consulting firms in the United States, and has been a consultant for states such as Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Ohio; the Province of Ontario; manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Honda; retailers such as Meijer, Inc. and Kmart; telecommunications companies such as SBC and AT&T; utilities like ITC; the University of Michigan, University of Chicago, and other colleges; and franchisees of Anheuser-Busch, Molson, Coors, Miller, Harley-Davidson, Mercedes-Benz, Suzuki, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Lincoln, and Avis.
Mr. Anderson has taken a leading role in several major public policy initiatives in his home state. He was the author of the 1992 Term Limit Amendment to the Michigan Constitution, and also the author of the 2006 initiated law that repealed the state’s 4-decade-old Single Business Tax. His firm’s work resulted in a wage increase for home help workers in 2006, the creation of a Michigan earned income tax credit in 2008, and the repeal of the item pricing law in 2011.
Mr. Anderson has written over 100 published works, including Economics of Business Valuation from Stanford University Press. Four of his journal articles, “Business Strategy and Firm Location Decisions,” “Pocketbook Issues and the Presidency,” “The Value of Private Businesses in the United States,” and “Policy Uncertainty and Persistent Unemployment,” have been awarded for outstanding writing from the National Association of Business Economics.
Former Lansing Mayor, Virg Bernero, is the current Executive Director of Capital Area Manufacturing Council (CAMC). In his 12 years as the city's chief executive, Mayor Bernero tackled the challenges of modern economy with a fierce determination by bringing common sense reforms to government that eventually paved the way for favorable business climate resulting in Lansing's urban resurgence.
Mayor Bernero is now leading the Capital Area Manufacturing Council (CAMC), a business alliance of Lansing area manufacturing executives and HR professionals who work together to promote industry best practices through networking with innovative and forward-thinking peers. Known for his passionate and combative style, the former mayor believes that his ability to deliver for his favorite city as its private citizen has been strengthened since leaving office.
Dr. Carter currently teaches courses in marketing research, marketing strategy, and entrepreneurship at the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. After completing his undergraduate degree in Industrial Management at Purdue University on an athletic scholarship, he went on at that institution to complete a master's and doctorate degree specializing in marketing and quantitative methods.
Dr. Carter has authored numerous marketing articles and publications in the areas of marketing research and macro-marketing. Early in his career his research interests focused on data analysis models for new product development. However, over the last decade his interests have focused on marketing's role in economic development, especially as it relates to women and minorities.
Dr. Carter has been the past president of the Black Faculty Association at Michigan State University; owner of a market research firm in Detroit, and a co-researcher of a five year initiative at Michigan State University to provide an integrative development tool for 'at-risk' communities; and a three year initiative to improve the entrepreneurial skills of small health care providers within the Detroit Empowerment Zone. He has also been a consultant with numerous organizations such as Citibank, Herman Miller, Johnson and Johnson, the State of Michigan, and several small minority owned businesses across the Midwest.
Anderson Economic Group
Startup Grind
Chapter Director
Washington Avenue Ventures
Chapter Director
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Startup Grind Lansing
Chapter Co-Director
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Anderson Economic Group
Chapter Operations Director
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